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Construction · head to head

Briq vs Topcon MAGNET

Briq logo

Briq

Construction

Financial automation and forecasting for contractors sitting on top of construction ERP

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Topcon MAGNET logo

Topcon MAGNET

Construction

Field, office and cloud software for surveying and civil construction, built around Topcon instruments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Briq briq layers on top of an ERP rather than replacing it, so the total finance software bill goes up and the business case has to come from headcount or close-time savings that are hard to measure in advance.; Topcon MAGNET mAGNET is built around Topcon and Sokkia hardware, so a firm running mixed instrument brands will not get the field workflows it expects and is better served by manufacturer-independent field software.
  • They diverge on capability: Briq covers Invoice capture and coding, Topcon MAGNET covers MAGNET Field.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Briq and Topcon MAGNET actually diverge.

Attributes where Briq and Topcon MAGNET differ
AttributeBriqTopcon MAGNET
PlatformsWebWindows, Android, Web

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Briq

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • WIP schedules
  • Cash flow forecasting
  • Cost at completion forecasting
  • Multi-entity consolidation
  • Overhead allocation
  • Workflow automation
  • Dashboards and reporting

Only in Topcon MAGNET

  • MAGNET Field
  • MAGNET Office
  • MAGNET Enterprise
  • Machine control model preparation
  • Mass haul and earthwork
  • Point layout and stakeout
  • Live field to office link
  • Standard format exchange

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Briq

  • A contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because WIP is rebuilt by hand in Excel every periodnot Topcon MAGNET
  • A group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin viewnot Topcon MAGNET
  • A specialty contractor processing thousands of supplier invoices a month that wants coding and approval automated rather than keyednot Topcon MAGNET
  • A finance director who needs a defensible cost-at-completion forecast for a surety or lender rather than a project manager's estimatenot Topcon MAGNET

Topcon MAGNET

  • A civil contractor running Topcon grade control that needs design models prepared and pushed to machines from one environmentnot Briq
  • A survey crew doing construction layout with Topcon total stations and wanting field data to reach the office without a memory cardnot Briq
  • An earthworks estimator producing takeoff quantities and mass haul plans from engineering drawingsnot Briq
  • A firm standardising on one manufacturer end to end to reduce the number of software packages its crews have to learnnot Briq

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Briq

  • Briq layers on top of an ERP rather than replacing it, so the total finance software bill goes up and the business case has to come from headcount or close-time savings that are hard to measure in advance.
  • The output is only as good as job cost coding in the underlying ledger, and contractors with inconsistent cost codes get faster visibility of a mess rather than a clean forecast.
  • No pricing is published and the contract is scoped by entities, modules and transaction volume, which makes budgeting impossible without a full discovery exercise.
  • Implementation is a data mapping project against systems such as Vista and Sage 300 that were not designed to be read this way, so go-live timelines run into months and depend on your own finance team's availability.
  • It targets mid-market and larger contractors; a firm with one entity and a competent controller in Excel will not recover the cost, and the product is oversized for smaller subcontractors.

Topcon MAGNET

  • MAGNET is built around Topcon and Sokkia hardware, so a firm running mixed instrument brands will not get the field workflows it expects and is better served by manufacturer-independent field software.
  • Topcon does not publish a rate card and sells through dealers, so two customers can pay materially different prices for the same licences depending on region and negotiation.
  • Cloud connectivity through MAGNET Enterprise is commonly bundled for the first year and then charged, which surprises firms that budgeted only for the licence.
  • Office capability is spread across modules and disciplines rather than sold as one product, so getting from data collection to machine control model preparation can require more than one purchase.
  • The office desktop software is Windows only and the wider line has been reorganised more than once, so buyers should confirm which specific product name their dealer is quoting and how long it will be supported.

Pricing, plan by plan

Briq

On request
  • Briq$undefined/year
    • Annual platform subscription
    • Scoped by modules, entities and transaction volume
    • Implementation and data mapping quoted separately

Topcon MAGNET

On request
  • MAGNET Field$undefined/year
    • Data collector licence
    • Sold through Topcon dealers
    • Annual service plan renewals available
  • MAGNET Office$undefined/year
    • Desktop licence with modules by discipline
    • Includes cloud connectivity for a first year
    • Renewal quoted separately
  • MAGNET Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud project storage and field to office exchange
    • Subscription renewed annually
    • Bundled initially with Office licences

Which should you pick?

Choose Briq if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You also want wip schedules.
Briq review

Choose Topcon MAGNET if

  • You need magnet field.
  • You work on Windows, Android, Web.
  • You also want magnet office.
Topcon MAGNET review

Questions people ask

Is Briq or Topcon MAGNET better?
Neither clearly leads. Briq starts at On request and Topcon MAGNET at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Briq or Topcon MAGNET?
Briq starts at On request and Topcon MAGNET at On request.
Does Briq or Topcon MAGNET run on more platforms?
Briq runs on Web. Topcon MAGNET runs on Windows, Android, Web.
What is Briq best used for?
Briq is most often used for a contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because wip is rebuilt by hand in excel every period, a group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin view, a specialty contractor processing thousands of supplier invoices a month that wants coding and approval automated rather than keyed, a finance director who needs a defensible cost-at-completion forecast for a surety or lender rather than a project manager's estimate. Of those, a contractor whose month-end close runs three weeks because wip is rebuilt by hand in excel every period and a group with four operating companies on different chart-of-accounts structures that needs one consolidated margin view are not what Topcon MAGNET is typically brought in for.
What can Briq do that Topcon MAGNET cannot?
Briq covers Invoice capture and coding, WIP schedules, Cash flow forecasting, Cost at completion forecasting. Topcon MAGNET covers MAGNET Field, MAGNET Office, MAGNET Enterprise, Machine control model preparation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Briq: Does Briq replace my construction accounting system?

No. It reads from Vista, Sage or similar and automates the reporting and forecasting layer above them. You keep the ERP.

Topcon MAGNET: Does MAGNET work with Trimble or Leica instruments?

Not as a practical daily workflow. It exchanges standard file formats but the field software is designed for Topcon and Sokkia hardware.

Briq: What does it cost?

Briq does not publish pricing. Contracts are scoped by module, entity count and transaction volume and quoted annually.

Topcon MAGNET: Is pricing published?

No. MAGNET is sold through Topcon dealers with quotes varying by region and configuration.

Briq: How long does implementation take?

Expect months rather than weeks, because most of the work is mapping and cleaning job cost data from the existing ledger.

Topcon MAGNET: Is the cloud service included?

Typically for a first year with a licence, then renewable as a paid subscription.

Briq: Is it useful for a single-entity contractor?

Less so. The strongest case is multi-entity consolidation and high invoice volume; a small contractor gets thinner returns.

Topcon MAGNET: Can I get my data out at project closeout?

Yes, through LandXML, DXF and standard survey exchange formats, though field-specific configuration does not transfer to a competitor.

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